Syllabus

TIP TITLE: Create Barrier-Free Learning with Universal Design and Assistive Technology

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TIP level: Proficient
Intended Audience: mixed grade levels (elementary, middle and high school)
Course size: limited to 25
Instructors: Beth Lloyd, school based occupational therapist & Lindsay Jacobson, Special Education co-teacher
Meeting place: Hosmer Library
PDPs - 20 (10 hours class time and 10 hours to explore and create on your own)

DESCRIPTION: Join the barrier-free movement and expand your practice and classrooms. Universal Design in Learning (UDL) is about addressing the needs of all learners. It involves multiple means of representation, expression and engagement. We will look at a variety of web tools and assistive technology that will enhance your classroom and make it accessible to all. Get ready to flex and stretch your instructional media muscles, unleash student expression and engage students through their interests. Experience the creativity of building and using a digital toolbox to use with all grade levels!

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
pre-requisites for the course:
  • Curious, inquisitive nature and willingness to explore new tools and programs
  • Sign up for free account at Wikispaces __http://www.wikispaces.com/__ and send us your username so we can add you as a member to our class wiki

The core questions we will investigate:
• How will I reach all learners in my classroom?
• How will I offer multiple ways for my students to express what they know?
• How will I engage the diversity of learners in my class?
• How can I discover applications, devices and tools to meet the diverse needs of my students?
• How can I keep current on the "ever changing" technologies and tools that are available?


SESSION 1: October 7, 2009 (1:00 - 3:00)

Episode One: Breaking Down the Barriers - Understand the principles of Universal Design for Learning and the role of assistive technology in school


Goals and Topics:
- Introduction to universal design principles
- Understand the role and range of assistive technology in school
- What would MacGyver do? Using Macgyver–like ingenuity to find solutions in your classroom
- Toolbelt Theory
__http://speedchange.blogspot.com/2008/03/csun-2008a-toolbelt-for-lifetime.html__

Learning Activities:
- Start a key chain of free tools you can put to use the first day in class http://www.kevinhoneycutt.com/
- Learn how to add content to our course site (a wiki)
- Sign up for VoiceThread
__http://voicethread.com__
- See examples of past TIP projects
- "Recess time" to explore sites and tools

Resources:
- Course Wiki
__http://barrierfreelearning.wikispaces.com/__
- CAST website __http://www.cast.org/index.html__
- Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning by David H. Rose & Anne Meyer, available online at __http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/__
- Atomic Learning __http://atomiclearning.com__
- Blogs

Preparation for next session:
- Write down 3 ideas of a possible curriculum & technology project that you will develop during this TIP course.
- Explore Chapter 3 of Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Why We Need Flexible Instructional Media
__http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter3.cfm__


SESSION 2: November 3, 2009 (10:30 - 12:30)

Episode Two: Flexing and Stretching Your instructional Media Muscles

Goals and Topics:
- Understand the range of learning challenges and differences in our students
- Learn how to make text digital, therefore accessible for all (ebooks, text to speech and more)
- Explore the power of digital images and video

Learning Activities:
- Build a toolkit of digital tools for presenting instruction and content
- Go through the steps to making a voicethread
- TIP Project development
- "Recess" - time to play with tools with support by instructors

Resources:
- Free Technology Toolkit for UDL in All Classrooms http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/
- 100 Helpful Web Tools for Every Kind of Learner
__http://www.collegeathome.com/blog/2008/06/10/100-helpful-web-tools-for-every-kind-of-learner/__
- Blogs

Preparation for next session:
- Explore Chapter 6 of Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Using UDL to Support Every Student's Learning
__http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter6.cfm__
- Create a simple VoiceThread as a means of instruction and share with group on course wiki

SESSION 3: January 19, 2010 (10:30 - 12:30)

Episode Three: Reeling Them In - Attracting Student Attention and Engaging Their Interests THEN Unleashing Student Expression

Goals and Topics:
- The importance of building student strengths and using their interests
- Keeping creativity in schools
- Did you know you could do this with Word?
- The pencil is not the only way to write - explore word prediction and speech recognition
- What…use a cell phone? Explore tools for organization and study skills
- Best ways for students to collaborate and share their work

Learning Activities:
- Adding to your toolkit of digital tools for student expression (e.g.
__extranormal__, __animoto__, __glogster__)
- List multiple/flexible means of expression for a personal learning task
- Adding to your toolkit of digital tools for student engagement (e.g.
__auto____motivator__, __time____z attac____k__, __makebeliefscomix__)
- "Recess" - time to play with tools with support by instructors

Resources:
- Atomic Learning
__http://www.atomiclearning.com__
- Blogs

Preparation for next session:
- Watch TED video by Sir Ken Robinson, Do Schools Kill Creativity?
__http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html__ OR listen to Wes Fryer's podcast: Strive to Engage Not Enthrall http://socpodcasts.wordpress.com/2007/08/06/podcast175v-strive-to-engage-not-enthrall/
- Use VoiceThread (or another new tool) to demonstrate student expression or engagement and share on class wiki

SESSION 4: March 8, 2010 (10:30 12:30)

Episode 4 The power of independence! Assistive technology - putting the right tool into your students hands

Goals and Topics:
- Using design principles to adapt tools for individual needs
- Choosing assistive technology to improve student independence
- Considering AT during the IEP process
- Now what?...sustaining your knowledge and getting answers

Learning Activities:
- Choose a tool / Adapt a tool
- "Recess" - time to explore and play with the tools
- TIP Project "show down" - ask questions, get feedback, share with others

Resources:
- TechMatrix:
a powerful tool for finding educational and assistive technology products for students with special needs __http://www.techmatrix.org/__
- Blogs